Press Release
September 17, 2008

Loren deplores rampant corruption in road projects

Senator Loren Legarda yesterday expressed dismay over the rampant corruption in road projects as exemplified by brouhaha in the C-5 Extension, which got double allocation in the 2008 National Budget.

"I always get mad about corruption in government," said Legarda, adding that it is wrong for public official to use his or her position in order to enrich him or herself.

"It is against our laws to steal from public funds. There is no justification for someone to over-price government contracts or accept bribes for official approvals," she said.

Legarda was referring to the conspicuous insertion of another P200 million for the C-5 Extension project. A similar amount had been allocated for the construction of the Pres. C.P. Garcia Avenue, which is the same as C-5 Extension.

"The discovered double allocation best exemplifies an overpriced project in Metro Manila," Legarda said, adding that the practice may have been the reason why the government accomplished road projects nowhere near its target.

"Instead of improving 1,000 kilometers our government is only able to improve 500 kilometers because of corruption," she noted.

"So when our fellow poor Filipinos living in remote rural areas wonder why the bad roads to their homes and farms have been left unpaved for a long time, they should know that it is because of corruption in road projects in Metro Manila and other cities where government spends most of its money," she added.

Legarda explained that corruption harms everyone, and harms the poor people even more, and that richer people who pay taxes may think that those who steal from government are mostly stealing the money they pay.

"A public office is a public trust. Our people lose trust in their leaders whenever they observe them violating this principle," she said.

Legarda also cited the widespread corruption in the agriculture sector involving the alleged anomalous distribution of free seeds and subsidized fertilizer to farmers.

According to Legarda, corruption in agricultural increases food prices because farmers spend more to produce less, as a result of which, the poor suffer more from higher food prices

"Food comprises more than 55% of total spending of families. Very poor families spend almost all their meager income on food. Poor people's incomes are low and food prices are too high," she said.

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